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Submission + - Apple Fails to Deliver on Boot Camp Promise (apple.com)

Submitted by SkydiverFL
SkydiverFL writes: For those fans of Apple's Boot Camp package, it looks like you might be waiting on the next "end of year" to use Windows 7 on your shiny silver boxes. Back in October (2009, of course), Apple published a rather short, but rather affirmative, promise stating quite simply that, "Apple will support Microsoft Windows 7 (Home Premium, Professional, and Ultimate) with Boot Camp in Mac OS X Snow Leopard before the end of the year. This support will require a software update to Boot Camp." Needless to say that the support page has no updates regarding the new version. Maybe they're waiting for iSlate?
NASA

Submission + - Is This The End Of Mars Rover Spirit? (spacefellowship.com)

Submitted by RobGoldsmith
RobGoldsmith writes: NASA’s Mars rover Spirit will mark six years of unprecedented science exploration and inspiration for the American public on Sunday. However, the upcoming Martian winter could end the roving career of the beloved, scrappy robot.
Nintendo

Submission + - Nintendo Shuts Down Fan-Made Zelda Movie (theherooftime.com)

Submitted by Andorin
Andorin writes: An independently filmed adaptation of The Legend of Zelda: Ocarina of Time, called The Hero Of Time, has been taken offline by Nintendo as of the end of December. The film's producers write: "We came to an agreement with Nintendo earlier this month to stop distributing the film... We understand Nintendo’s right to protect its characters and trademarks and understand how in order to keep their property unspoiled by fan’s interpretation of the franchise, Nintendo needs to protect itself — even from fan-works with good intentions." Filming for the feature-length, non-profit film began in August 2004 and the movie was completed in 2008. It premiered in various theatres worldwide, including in New York and Los Angeles, and then became available online in the middle of December, before it was targeted by Nintendo's legal team. As both an avid Zelda fan and an appreciator of independent works, I was extremely disappointed in Nintendo's strong-arming of a noncommercial adaptation to the Game of the Year for 1999.
United States

Submission + - Ten Most Ridiculous Uses of Stimulus Funds (theatheistconservative.com)

Submitted by Anonymous Coward
An anonymous reader writes: Verum Serum lists the ten most ridiculous uses of stimulus funds among which are: a $9.3 million to fund the design and development of a coordinated colony of robotic bees, a $712,883 research grant to develop oemachine-generated humor, and a $427,824 grant to design better video games for senior citizens based on their unique oegame-play needs.
Security

Submission + - Online Services Let Virus Writers Check Their Work (krebsonsecurity.com)

Submitted by Anonymous Coward
An anonymous reader writes: Former Washington Post Security Fix blogger Brian Krebs has launched a new blog at krebsonsecurity.com, and his first story highlights a pair of underground antivirus scanning services that cater to virus writers. Scanning services like virustotal.com scan submitted files against dozens of antivirus products, and share the results with each of the vendors so that all benefit from learning about threats they don't yet detect. But there are number of budding online services that allow customers to pay per scan, and promise that the results will never get reported back to the antivirus companies. One service even tests how well web site "exploit packs" are detected, while others promise additional layers of protection. From the story: "The service claims that it will soon be rolling out advanced features, such as testing malware against anti-spyware and firewall programs, as well as a test to see whether the malware functions in a virtual machine."
Microsoft

Submission + - Microsoft Says Goodbye GUI, Hello MUI 3

Submitted by theodp
theodp writes: On New Year's Eve, the USPTO revealed that Microsoft is seeking patents for controlling a computer by simply flexing a muscle. Microsoft proposes using Electromyography (EMG) sensors and a wired or wireless human-computer interface to interact with computing systems and attached devices via electrical signals generated by specific movement of the user's muscles. 'It is important to consider mechanisms for acquiring human input that may not necessarily require direct manipulation of a physical implement,' explained the inventors. 'For example, drivers attempting to query their vehicle navigation systems may find it advantageous to be able to do so without removing their hands from the steering wheel, and a person in a meeting may want to unobtrusively communicate with someone outside. Also, since physical computer input devices have been shown to be prone to collecting microbial contamination in sterile environments, techniques that alleviate the need for these implements could be useful in surgical and cleanroom settings.' Any suggestions for how to Ctrl-Alt-Del with a Muscle User Interface (MUI)?
IT

Submission + - The Long Shadow of Y2K

Submitted by
Hugh Pickens
Hugh Pickens writes: "It seems like it was only yesterday when the entire world was abuzz about the looming catastrophe of Y2K that had us both panicked and prepared. Ten Years ago there were doomsday predictions that planes would fall from the sky and electric grids would go black, forced into obsolescence by the inability of computers to recognize the precise moment that 1999 rolled over to 2000 and for many it was a time to feel anxious about getting money out of bank accounts and fuel out of gas pumps. "Nobody really understood what impact it was going to have, when that clock rolled over and those digits went to zero. There was a lot of speculation they would reset back to 1900," says IT professional. Jake DeWoskin. The Y2K bug may have been IT's moment in the sun, but it also cast a long shadow in its wake as the years and months leading up to it were a hard slog for virtually everyone in IT, from project managers to programmers. "People were scared for their jobs and their reputations," says CIO Dick Hudson, Staffers feared that if they were fired for failing to remedy Y2K problems, the stigma would prevent them from ever getting a job in IT again. "Then there was the fear that someone like Computerworld would report it, and it would be on the front page," Hudson adds. Although IT executives across the globe were confident that they had the problem licked, a nagging fear followed them right up until New Year's Eve. While most people were out celebrating the turn of the century, IT executives and their staffs were either monitoring events in the office or standing by at home. Afterwards came the recriminations and backlash as an estimated $100 billion was spent nationwide for problems that turned out to be minimal. Others says the nonevent was evidence the Y2K effort was done right. "It was a no-win situation," says Paul Ingevaldson. "People said, 'You IT guys made this big deal about Y2K, and it was no big deal. You oversold this. You cried wolf.' ""

Comment Use a Taxpayer ID Number Instead (Score 1) 505

by SkydiverFL (#29068485) Attached to: How To Stop Businesses Storing SSNs Indefinitely?

Why not just go to the IRS and request a Taxpayer ID number? They will give you one that you can then give to your employer. Your employer can use THAT number to submit tax payments on your behlaf and never has to know your SSN. Reserve your SSN for companies you need credit from or when you're actually dealing with the Social Security Administration.

Comment Re:Perhaps the problem isn't due to a lack of an x (Score 1) 310

by SkydiverFL (#25513939) Attached to: How To Deploy a Game Console In the Office?

Sorry for the confusion. I should have been more clear.

When I said that I cannot install a monitor at their desk, I meant a SECOND monitor just for the console. That would be just too "in your face." Also, by piping it through the laptop (using a capture card, etc.) my hope was to be able to prove that the consoles are not being abused.

Our management is great. And, our developers are hard workers. It's the rest of the departments out there that I worry about. ;-)
Businesses

Submission + - How to deploy a game console in the office?

Submitted by
SkydiverFL
SkydiverFL writes: "Does anyone have an idea for a good solution for using a game console (Xbox 360, PS3, etc.) with a laptop and / or external monitor?

I am planning to setup each of my developers at the office with a shiny new Xbox 360, surround headphones, and Gold memberships. The only catch is that I have to do it "gracefully." I would be grateful for any input on the technical setup and politics (how to get it in and how to work through the politics).

Long story short, I am the MIS Manager / Lead Architect for a blue collar non-tech company. My team needs to be happy but the folks in the rest of the office do not really understand what that means for the types of personalities that exist in our department. Even though my team is tucked away in a different part of the building, we do have clients and employees come back here from time to time. I cannot set a monitor on their desk. The console can be here, but it needs to be not so "in your face."

Each developer currently has a maxed out Dell Latitude D830 laptop, docking station, and a wide screen 20" LCD. The LCD has a dual-input configuration... one for SVGA and one for DVI. The DVI port is in use by the laptop.

It would be preferable NOT to feed the console directly into the monitor. We have employee monitoring software in use and need to track the usage of the console. SO, it seems best to use a capture card along with some type of viewer utility. This would allow us to have a record of WHEN and HOW LONG the console was used in case anyone else in management ever has a problem."

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I tell them to turn to the study of mathematics, for it is only there that they might escape the lusts of the flesh. -- Thomas Mann, "The Magic Mountain"

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